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Zuma: World Cup to leave proud legacy

South African President Jacob Zuma says the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, to be hosted in South Africa, has steered the country towards the biggest infrastructure investment in history.

The President was delivering his maiden state of the nation address during a joint sitting of Parliament in Cape Town on Wednesday.

"One of the biggest infrastructure investment projects is in the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. We have, as government and the nation at large, pledged that the World Cup will leave a proud legacy from which our children and our communities will benefit for many years to come," Zuma said.

Zuma reiterated that the country was on track to meet the obligations that come with hosting one of the world's foremost sporting events.

"We are on track to meet all our obligations and are determined to give the world the best World Cup ever," he said.

The South African government is responsible for the delivery of 17 guarantees made to FIFA.

These guarantees are contained in the bid book and are required of any country that wishes to host the World Cup.

The 17 guarantees provided by various government departments cover access to South Africa, a supportive financial environment, intellectual property and marketing rights, safety and security, healthcare services, transport and telecommunications.

Preparations to host the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup are also at an advanced stage.

"We are putting all systems in place to make the Confederations Cup, which kicks off on 14 June, a huge success," Zuma said.

The President said the on-going roll-out of the digital broadcasting infrastructure and signal distribution transmitters would boost the delivery of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to billions of fans around the globe.

"Overall, we will ensure that the cost of telecommunications is reduced through the projects under way to expand broadband capacity," he said.